Next step for Williamson: finish stronger inside

Thursday

Oct 17, 2013 at 5:36 AM

As a freshman, guard Brynn Williamson’s primary role for the Iowa State women’s basketball team was as a floor-spacing 3-point threat. As a sophomore, Williamson remained that and also became a lockdown perimeter defender for the Cyclones.

So what’s next for Williamson as her junior year begins?

“Her 3-point percentage is higher than her 2-point percentage,” ISU coach Bill Fennelly said. “She’s got to finish around the basket, she’s got to get to the free-throw line more.”

Becoming more of an all-around offensive threat is the next logical step for Williamson. Most of her offensive damage last year came from the perimeter, where she made 68 3-pointers and shot 35.4 percent, third-best in the Big 12. She shot 192 times from beyond the arc and was just 12-of-40 inside it (30 percent).

Rarely did Williamson attack the hoop with the intention of scoring. Doing so now may be the key to increasing the 8.3 points she averaged last year, for a team that will likely need to score more given that it’s sacrificing an inside defensive presence for playmaking with a new four-guard offense.

“Attack the basket, shoot a free throw,” Williamson said. “Anything like that’s going to help contribute to my team significantly.”

“Everything’s a progression,” he said. “You want to get better, but you never want to forget what you’re the best at. And her best skill set is she shoots a lot of threes, and hopefully she’ll make a lot. She’s worked really hard. I don’t know if we had any kid work harder in the offseason than Brynn.

“She likes the role of being someone we’re counting on at a high level.”